Erik Karlsson left the ice during Sharks pregame warmups Saturday.

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SAN JOSE, CA – DECEMBER 5: San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson (65) sends the puck towards the goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Karlsson left the ice early during Sharks pregame warmups in Tampa Saturday, getting scratched just before the puck dropped in his team’s game with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Karlsson is dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him off the ice for a large chunk of the third period of the Sharks win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday. After the game, DeBoer said he limited Karlsson’s third period ice time for “precautionary” reasons. The two-time Norris Trophy winner logged 25:48 of ice time one day later during the Sharks loss to the Arizona Coyotes, posting a minus-4 rating while committing eight giveaways. Karlsson was reportedly walking with a limp in the Sharks locker room after the game.

In the wake of Wednesday’s game, Karlsson missed Sharks practice on Friday and sat out of the team’s optional morning skate on Saturday. Still, DeBoer insisted that Karlsson would suit up in Tampa Saturday night, saying that he wasn’t at risk of further aggravating his injury by playing.

At this point, the severity of Karlsson’s injury is unclear. The Sharks haven’t set a timetable for his return.